Suchergebnisse

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between gender diversity in CEO positions and FinTech profitability by exploring the moderating role of the average board age on such a relationship.


Design/methodology/approach
A unique data set of Italian FinTech companies during the 2017–2019 period was used in an ordinary least square model specification. The model is designed to assess the relationship between the presence of a female CEO and FinTech profitability and the moderating role of the average age of governing board members.


Findings
The results of this study indicate that when the average age of the FinTech firm's board members is relatively low, the profitability of those firms with female CEOs was not significantly different from the profitability of firms with male CEOs. However, among FinTech firms with relatively older board members, the profitability of those firms with a female CEO was lower. This empirical result seems to suggest that older board directors are less prone to recognize female CEO leadership qualities. This supports the need for FinTech firms to adopt good practices in board composition that favor gender inclusion and diversity on board.


Originality/value
The novelty of this study within the literature is that the empirical analysis added new evidence on the relationship between Female CEO and performance by exploring the moderating role of the average age of board members. Moreover, the empirical results of this study suggest specific conditions that could improve the profitability of female-led firms by removing the apparent biased perceptions about the quality of women in leadership among older board members.

AbstractThe aim of the study is to understand the approach to certification from different perspectives, in order to appreciate how the stakeholders, enact processes of creation, implementation and decision‐making processes in establishing criteria for local development. We analysed the extant literature in order to assess the present knowledge and approach on the world of labelling for sustainable development and detect possible paths for future research in the field. A document search was conducted through Scopus and WoS databases. Sustainable certifications do not cover a univocal path of implementation, so it is made necessary to establish a network approach in order to involve all the stakeholders to boost new processes for implementation of bottom‐up strategies for sustainable development. The necessity to start a new approach to local development strategies recalls the opportunity of creating new local networks amongst different stakeholders to talk each other on a univocal perspective that looks with favour to sustainability issues and enhance the link to financial performance. The example of bio‐districts is carried on enforcing the theoretical aspects.

AbstractResearch Question/IssueDo enforcement actions impact banks' board composition? Based on a unique sample of sanctions imposed on Italian banks by the country's banking supervisory authority from 2009 to 2015, we investigate whether supervisory enforcement actions affect changes at the board level. Moreover, we examine whether changes at the board level after a sanction are effective in reducing the probability of further sanctions in the future.Research Findings/InsightsThe findings reveal that sanctioned banks change their board composition following a supervisory sanction. We further test whether these changes improve bank governance and find that, under certain conditions, they may reduce the probability that the board is sanctioned again. Robustness tests confirm the results.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsThis study provides empirical evidence that supports the role of supervisory enforcement actions in inducing banks to adopt changes at the board level. Given that the relationship between supervisory sanctions and changes in board characteristics is still neglected, we contend that our results may increase the understanding of the effectiveness of enforcement actions in improving board characteristics.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsWe believe that our results have policy implications by making a clear and concrete contribution to the ongoing debate on the revision of the principles for enhancing corporate governance and banking supervision.